Taking a fresh view of the increasing population, growing number of houses, burgeoning volume of vehicles and ever-escalating future needs, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to develop 14 big cities, including Lucknow, to meet urban development requirements.

The 14 cities which will be taken up for transformation include Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Gorakhpur, the home town of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The other cities are Kanpur Nagar, Chitrakoot, Prayagraj, Jhansi, Agra, Mathura, Bareilly, Meerut, Saharanpur, Moradabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida).

"Under this new endeavour, new master plans (city development plans) will be made for the respective cities of the state, including Lucknow. Apart from this, the master plan of some cities will be amended," a government spokesman said.

In the newly prepared master plan, the beautification and conservation of historical and religious sites, inclusion of ponds, reservoirs, lakes etc. as well as wildlife sanctuaries, reserve forests, environment and forests and other protected areas will be taken care of.

The spokesman said the exercise of selecting a consultant in the Housing Department for preparing the city development plan for these big cities had started.

The chief minister is of the view that the enhancement of the preservation work of historical heritage sites will not only lend additional beauty to these cities but also boost tourism and generate employment.

According to the officials of the Housing Department, the land use of all the areas of the cities will be determined afresh in the master plan to be prepared for the said cities as per the instructions of the chief minister. Necessary process has been started in this regard.

While preparing the master plan, land use will be determined according to the current needs in the cities. All the major structures, including rivers, airports, bus stations and military areas will be displayed in the master plan. The new master plan will be GIS based.

A committee headed by the secretary (housing) will prepare a proposal to add new things in the master plan as per the need.

It has also been directed to include regional development plans in the new master plan so that the cities concerned do not face any problem in the coming days. Not only this, the firing ranges of the army will be declared as 'sensitive' areas in the master plan to be prepared for the 14 big cities.

According to the current requirements, a new industrial area, bus station, master plan road and all other such installations, including water works and sewage treatment plant (STP) and garbage disposal centre, will also be mentioned in the master plan. The existing structures built against land use in the cities will be adjusted according to the mandate in the master plan.

In the master plan, in case of construction of river embankment, the river bank will be proposed as an embankment only.